


Punk-Ass Book Jockeys

by alltears



Category: Hamilton - Miranda
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Angelica is better than everyone else, Barnes and Noble Employee!John, First Meetings, Harry Potter - Freeform, M/M, Nonbinary Character, and peggy, barnes and noble, i can't write endings, it's laf, lots of book references, mulligan fucks horses, my other fanfic was better, title stolen from Parks and Rec
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-06-20
Updated: 2016-06-20
Packaged: 2018-07-16 03:14:33
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,379
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7249774
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/alltears/pseuds/alltears
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Harry Potter was not considered a Barnes and Noble classic.</p><p>Because of this, a short, Latino man had been screeching in the center of the book store for the last 2 minutes.</p><p>(a.k.a the one where John is an annoyed B&N employee, and Alex, Lafayette, and Hercules end up making his day a little more interesting)</p>
            </blockquote>





	Punk-Ass Book Jockeys

A short, Latino man had been screeching in the center of the book store for the last 2 minutes.

Traditionally, Barnes and Nobles was a relatively quiet and friendly place. People there are too captivated by books, music, and coffee, to even bother causing a disturbance. Not that the man was trying to be annoying, per se, but most would admit that disruption followed him around like a lost puppy. This was why he typically avoided book stores, libraries, hospitals, and movie theaters - although, his nonstop commentary on those movies only improved them. Nonstop commentary was caused by his nonstop mouth, which was affected by his nonstop brain… it was a vicious system that, while sometimes could be handy, was a curse 90% of the time.

And yes, the system was activated the second he laid eyes on the “Classic Literature” section. Countless titles, ranging from Little Women to Jekkyl and Hide, and yet the workers of Barnes and Noble failed to recognized the series that changed the way multiple generations have - and will - grown up. 

Exactly.

Harry Potter was not considered a Barnes and Noble classic.

So forgive him for yelping “what the Hell?” after a quick scan of these books. A hesitant young woman wearing a light blue sundress standing adjacent to him made the mistake of stepping closer and kindly asking what was wrong. The guy, barely even registering she was addressing him, resumed to release his outrage.

“This makes 0 sense! Who the fuck doesn’t consider the greatest book of all time a classic?”

This startled the woman, so she quickly made the smart decision to wander back to her group. One of the girls (taller, in a pink coat) whispered something to the girl in blue, glared in the direction of the shouts, and marched out of the store with her friends behind her. However, on the way out, she stopped a freckled man stocking a shelf in a B&N t-shirt who seemed rather oblivious to the situation.

“Excuse me?” She squinted at the name tag. “John, is it? Yes. John, my name is Angelica Schuyler, and these are my siblings. I don’t know if you’re aware, but there is a very childish adult in your establishment who is being rather…”

“Annoying? Argumentative? Asshole-ish?” Supplied the third member of their party, a person with red lipstick and a yellow plaid shirt.

“Ah yes, thank you, Peggy. Asshole-ish,” The woman finished with a smug look on her face. She crossed her arms and glanced back over to the scene that was somehow still happening before directing her attention back to her friends.  
“Well, we should leave. Nice speaking with you, John. Eliza? Peggy?” And with that, the three women left rather hurriedly, as this boy’s yells were drifting over to where John was standing meaning that he was increasing in volume. 

John quickly stumbled around the bookshelf he was tending to so he could glance at the situation that no other employee would address, and god, did he regret it. The short, obviously angered man in a green Caribbean hoodie and dark ponytail was lecturing everyone who hadn’t already fled the store out of fear and confusion. The second John saw the man, he knew he wanted to punch him in the face. John huffed, rolled his eyes, and approached the scene.

“This is awful! Whoever did this must’ve been seriously-”

“Sir? I’m gonna have to ask you to keep it down or leave the store,” The man stared up at the taller man in a bit of an awe. Freckles. Beautiful eyes. Curly hair. Holy shit. 

For the first time since this guy wandered into the shop, he was at a loss for words.

And he was staring. With his jaw-dropped. Creepy. A blush rose to his cheeks as he attempted to regain his posture, as he didn’t want to make this employee - John, according to his nametag - any more uncomfortable than he surely already was.

“Oh. I’m so sorry, I just… Harry Potter isn’t in the classics section. That just didn’t really sit right with me,” Alexander babbled. He cut himself off there, as if he continued, he’d surely get riled up again. John studied the other for a moment, and then looked at the display shelf next to him.

“...I can’t believe I’m gonna say this, but I actually agree with you, bro. I’ll mention that to my manager next meeting, okay?” Who wasn’t a Harry Potter fan at this point? John could admit that maybe - just maybe - was this cute guy overreacting a bit, but hey, passion is endearing sometimes. Matching smiles broke out on their faces.

“Thanks, dude! Uh, John, right? I’m Alexander Hamilton, but you can call me Alex,” The pair shook hands as John mumbled out a “nice to meet you”. Alexander opened his mouth to activate what his friends called his “Flirting Mode™”, but was cut off by two of his said friends running up excitedly.

“Alexandre! You will not believe the book that Hercules has found! It’s apparently a memoir about this man who tried to fuck a horse, and- oh, who is this?” Lafayette eyed John up-and-down, then winked suggestively at Alex. “We’re not interrupting anything, are we, mon petit lion?” Hercules elbowed Lafayette in the side, but snickered with him nonetheless.

“Ah - no. Your friend here was kind of screaming,” John stuttered out to the two new people. They both nodded, seemingly understanding what John was talking about perfectly. Alex laughed awkwardly and nodded as well, looking at everything except for John.

“Well,” he cleared his throat. “This is my friend, Lafayette - they’re French and annoying - and my other friend, Hercules - he likes to fuck horses, apparently,” All four laughed, the original group’s sense of humor clicking with John’s immediately. 

The group got to know John over the next few minutes, discussing everything from their college majors (They all went to Columbia) to which Star Wars character was best (This almost started another Harry Potter incident) (But hey. Worth it). And soon enough, John’s shift was over. He applied early in the summer, so he got first choice for shifts. Why on Earth would he say no to an early end time on Fridays?

“I gotta get back to my apartment, then. This day has been surprisingly tiring, considering I’ve done almost no work,” John chuckled, pulling out his phone and checking his notifications. Alexander looked at Lafayette and Hercules, basically begging them with puppy-dog eyes to invite their new friend out drinking with them. Given that Lafayette was constantly hounding on Alex for not dating anyone, and Hercules has voiced many times that he wants new people to compete in drinking contests with, they had no problem with it. At least according to their body language.

“Hey, John? Are you possibly, uh, are you free tonight?” John quirked an eyebrow at the question. Was Alexander asking him out? Hercules didn’t hesitate at slapping a hand on John’s shoulder invitingly and jumping in.

“Sorry about him. Man, he has a way with words, but not when it comes to boys he finds cute, ya know?” Hercules let out a booming laugh that, to Alex’s dismay, John and Laf joined. Alexander pouted at Hercules until the giggled settled down.

“Ooh, mon petit lion, don’t look so glum. We’re only having a bit of fun, non?” Lafayette ruffled Alexander’s hair before continuing. “He meant to ask if you’d like to go drinking with us tonight, John. 8 PM, Fraunce’s Bar?” 

John nodded, and the three others said their goodbyes and started leaving.  
“Oh, wait a second Alexander?” John grabbed his new friend’s arm as Laf and Hercules continued leaving without him. “Mind if I get your number?”

Alexander blushed once more at the request, ‘cause god, he knew flirting when he saw it. He fumbled to grab his phone from his pocket to put in John’s number, and grinned at him when he sent a cat emoji to the number to see if it worked. Cat emojis are endearing, too. 

“Great, so, I’ll see you tonight?” John’s eyes lit up at the reminder of their plan, and his smile that spread over his face was a lot softer this time.

“Hell yeah. It’s a date.”

**Author's Note:**

> i can't seem to finish a story well. like, ever. if you liked this, you should probably check out my better story, "Shout it to the Rooftops". follow my tumblr, hamforlams.tumblr.com


End file.
